Baked Polenta Fries with Garlic Tomato Sauce

There are days when you want to spend time putting together a meal. Spending an hour chopping vegetables, stirring a pot on the stove, carefully garnishing the finished dish, that’s all fine on those kinds of days. And then there are days when you’re tired and you want to throw something in the oven and forget about it until the timer goes off.

For those days, I present to you: Baked Polenta Fries. If you haven’t had them before, they’re polenta cut into steak fries and baked until crispy on the outside. Magic happens when you bake polenta. Yes, really, magic! Although they take about 40 minutes to bake, they require minimal effort on your part–just take a tube of polenta, cut it into fries, and bake until crisp and golden and browned on the edges. Magic!

We usually have our polenta fries with jarred marinara sauce, but I thought I’d make an easy garlic tomato sauce to go with this recipe, just in case you’re feeling ambitious. This adds a little more work, but not much. The tomatoes and garlic are roasted at the same temperature as the fries and then you give them a quick spin in your food processor to puree them into a sauce.

Brandy

October 14, 2013 at 4:52 pm

Where do I find Polenta? I have tried Walmart and Publix and people look at me like I am making the word up. They say it doesn’t exist or tell me they’ve never heard of it. Where can I buy Polenta?? Please get back to me at [email protected]

I tried making them with homemade polenta over the summer! It took me a few tries to get it right–unfortunately, I’ve found that you have to add a lot of extra oil (well, at least compared to how I usually make polenta), or they dry out too much.

thank you for this recipe!! i always buy these polenta tubes and generally end up making a huge mess while frying… plus it’s so much healthier to bake it without all the oil! trying this tonight in fact 🙂

I am making these as I type this! They smell amazing and look really good so far. I used my own polenta…I love how you can make any shape you want. I have had much success using polenta triangles as a base for an hors d’oeuvre. I think it would also be fun to make cookie cutter shapes for my little nieces and nephews. Thanks!

Stephanie C.

April 14, 2014 at 3:39 pm

I came across this post looking for a polenta fries recipe, specifically baked and that would work with a tube of polenta I’ve had in my pantry forever. This is just what I was looking for! I look forward to making this tonight. 🙂

Shellie

Shanelle

April 8, 2015 at 4:41 pm

I have to say I was thrilled with this recipe. I used homemade firm polenta. FIRM is the key here. I made it the day before and firmed it in the fridge (5 cups water, 1 cup cornmeal, 1 stick butter, salt to taste, wisk, wisk wisk) its a full proof way to make delicious velvety polenta. Let it firm up in the fridge (I keep mine overnight for extra firm). Mine took about 35 minutes in the oven and instead of salt and pepper I dusted them with Cajun seasoning and parsley. I used olive oil spray liberally to get a really good crust on the outside but a nice and fluffy inside. My husband said they are like crack and we are having them again tonight! Thanks for the recipe inspiration!

Jen

Cheryl Z.

April 5, 2017 at 12:23 pm

I’ve made these using chickpea flour. It’s so easy! First (and I mean do this first or you won’t have time when you need it!) oil a 9 x 13 glass dish. Then put 4 cups water, 1/2 cup olive oil, pinch of salt, and 8oz. chickpea flour (by weight, not by measure) in a pot. Mix it all up and “boil” it until it comes together. (it won’t actually boil, but it will bubble and sputter) The first time I made it and started mixing it together, I thought something had drastically gone wrong, but it comes together eventually. When it’s done cooking (it won’t smell like raw flour anymore), pour it into the prepared dish, smooth out the top and let it set. That’s it! This is just like the log of polenta you can purchase at the store only it’s protein instead of carbs.